Undercover FBI agent linked to Gillum fundraiser, documents show

Floridians are learning more about the depth of Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum’s relationship with an undercover FBI agent with the release of more documents from an attorney representing lobbyist Adam Corey. The latest records reveal the undercover agent, known as Mike Miller, likely paid a $4,386 food tab for a Gillum political committee fundraiser.

In April 2016, Corey sent an email to Miller and included a $4,386 invoice for the Gillum fundraiser. Corey said to Miller, “Attached is the invoice for the dinner you graciously offered to sponsor.”

Email provided by Adam CoreyCorey invoice

No such in-kind contribution was reported to the state, as required by law.

While the latest documents don’t show confirmation that the FBI agent paid the invoice, there is also no email from Corey making another request for payment. Another email reveals a few days later Gillum sent Miller a thank you note.

This is the second set of documents this week showing Gillum allegedly accepting gifts from a person that he assumed was an out-of-state real estate developer, not a federal agent conducting a pay-for-play investigation.

The earlier released documents show a text message exchange when Corey tells Gillum that Mike Miller had secured a ticket to the Broadway show “Hamilton.” Gillum responds to Corey by saying “Awesome news about Hamilton.” Gillum has maintained that his brother swapped a ticket to a Jay-Z/Beyonce concert in exchange for the “Hamilton” ticket. Corey’s attorney told the Associated Press in September that no such ticket swap happened.

Even if Gillum’s account is correct, however, under Florida law it’s still considered an indirect gift, even if his brother acted as a go-between.

The documents were released as part of a subpoena from the Florida Ethics Commission, which is investigating a complaint that Gillum accepted free gifts associated with 2016 trips to Costa Rica and New York City.

What is becoming clear with both sets of documents is that Corey was much more than just a friend to Gillum but someone who did his bidding. Corey arranged flights, hotel rooms and special events on behalf of the Tallahassee Mayor. In one email exchange that went on for over two weeks in July 2016, Corey emailed Gillum regarding hotel reservations he had made for a trip to Atlanta. Gillum asked Corey to arrange for a room upgrade. Corey tried to upgrade the Mayor’s room to a suite, but was unsuccessful.

Adam Corey email

With just 11 days before the end of voting, Gillum is discounting the allegations as political. While he hasn’t commented on the new documents, during Wednesday’s debate he referred to a Jay-Z song when he said, “Florida’s got 99 problems, and ‘Hamilton’ isn’t one of them.”

A day before during a Facebook Live event, Gillum accused Republicans of racism by questioning his alleged acceptance of free gifts.

It’s unknown if these new revelations will have an impact on the Governor’s race. Nearly every public poll shows Gillum leading Republican Ron DeSantis and more than 2 million Floridians have already voted.